MCSO: Man, 81, shoots man who was trying to rob him

Marion County sheriff's officials say a 28-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and critically injured while trying to rob an 81-year-old man on Sunday

By Carlos E. MedinaCorrespondent

James Stevens said he knew something wasn't right when he noticed a 2010 Kia following his vehicle Sunday night for about 20 minutes.

Stevens, 81, wasn't going to lead the man to his home, so he pulled over in a field in the 5500 block of Northwest Second Place. When the Kia also stopped, Stevens armed himself with a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and got out of his truck, according to Marion County Sheriff's Office reports.

Stevens told investigators that the driver of the Kia -- later identified as Lonnie Lorenza Hollingsworth Jr., 28 -- got out of the vehicle, approached him and demanded “everything you got,” reports state.

“I didn't want to shoot him, but I had to. I shot him,” Stevens told deputies as he pulled out the revolver from his pocket.

Four rounds appeared to have been fired from the six-shot gun, according to evidence photos.

Hollingsworth was shot once in the abdomen and was lying in the grass motionless when the first deputy arrived. The deputy began performing CPR until an ambulance arrived and paramedics took over. Hollingsworth was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition Monday afternoon.

Michelle Barron, a resident in the area of the shooting, called 911 and mistakenly thought Hollingsworth was dead.

“We have a dead person out here,” Barron told the 911 operator. “The guy that lives across the street was parking his truck in the field and someone tried to rob him and he shot him and killed him.”

Hollingsworth has had numerous run-ins with the law and was convicted in 2008 of carrying a concealed firearm and altering the serial number of a firearm. He also was charged with wearing a bulletproof vest in the commission of an attempted crime, but that charge was dropped.

Hollingsworth did not have a weapon Sunday, reports noted.

The Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate the incident. No charges had been filed late Monday.